Five Times Ron Drank On The Job
by JawlinesandCheekbones
Summary: Though not as careful as Harry when it comes to the rules, Auror Ron Weasley tries to be good. Really. But now that Harry has a new partner, Ron just seems to find himself needing something a little stronger whenever the Head Auror's involved.
1. Negotiation

_**Harry Potter and all related copyright do not belong to me. Story is compliant through most of the epilogue, meaning I have changed only some names, ages, and numbers of children. There will be slash.**_

_**This story is a companion piece to my previous H/D fic: Five Times Harry Drank On the Job (.net/s/7596648/1/Five_Times_Harry_Drank_On_The_Job)**_

_**It can be read alone, but may be much more enjoyable after reading the first. **_

* * *

><p>Ron Weasley stared at Minister Kingsley from across his desk, bewildered.<p>

"With all due respect sir, you're absolutely barking." The dark man tossed his head back and laughed.

"I thought so myself when I first came up with it. I figured I had finally gone round the bend." The new Minister of Magic smiled at the stumped auror sitting in his office. When the young auror said nothing, simply blinking into space, Kingsley continued.

"You saw it too, didn't you? At school?"

"Sir?" Kingsley folded his hands beneath his chin, and pinned the youngest Weasley boy with a searching gaze.

"Their rivalry is what pushed each of them to get better. The urge to outdo the other, to _prove themselves_ to each other, is what made them work harder, and harder. Undoubtedly, once they fall back into the swing of things, they could become the most formidable team this department has ever seen. Not that you've been slouching of course," Kingsley quickly made clear.

"It's just that Harry is content working with you. He's not going to push himself to do but so much better." Ron nodded slowly, beginning to understand.

"I suppose that does have some merit," he trailed off, thinking back to his school days. "No matter what we did, even if it wasn't really a competition, if Malfoy was there Harry just _had_ to win…"

"Exactly!" Kingsley clapped his hands together joyously. "I think they would do the same thing with their work as aurors. Granted, things would be rather tricky at first," Kingsley chuckled to himself.

"But, hell, maybe once the suspects see how violent the two of them are towards each other, when they're supposed to be _allies_, they'll get scared shitless over what might happen to _them_ and turn themselves in." Ron managed a weak chuckle at that, but still seemed rather pale.

"I don't know about this Kingsley. You're taking a big gamble here."

"I know," the Minister replied. "But to tell you the truth…" the Minister leaned in, dropping his voice, and motioned for Ron to do the same.

"The young Mr. Malfoy is running out of options, Auror Weasley. With his unfortunate situation, he has very few opportunities outside of the Ministry. Even here, the odds are stacked severely against him. _Especially_ amongst the aurors." Kingsley leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hand along his chin.

"The Deputy Aurors' are claiming everything from philosophical differences to flat out harassment from Mr. Malfoy as their reasons for wanting a partner transfer, but the whole truth is that the old prejudices still run deep. As long as Mr. Malfoy has that mark on his arm, no one here is going to give him a decent shot..."

"Except for Harry," Ron finished, comprehension slowly dawning on his face. Kingsley gave a nod.

"If Mr. Potter does take issue with him, it will be for legitimate reasons that Mr. Malfoy is truly at fault for, not for a stupid mistake from his past."

"Yeah," Ron snorted. "He's noble like that." The Minister smiled, and wrapped up his speech.

"Tomorrow, I plan to sign the papers and tell Potter of his new partner. Before I make the decision final, I wanted to speak with you. You know him far better than I, and if you feel it's a bad idea, then I will take your opinion into serious consideration." Ron gnawed on his bottom lip, thinking.

"It's not… an absolutely _horrid_ idea…" A grin spread across Kingsley's face.

"I shall inform Mr. Potter of the new arrangements tomorrow. And perhaps," he motioned with a sly smile. "It would be best not to let him know you were in on this little… discussion. What do you think?" Ron groaned as he rubbed his temple.

"To be honest, sir, I think I need a drink." Ron's eyes widened as the Minister sent him a wink, pulling a decanter and a bottle of Ogden's from his desk.

"That settles it, then. This will be our little secret."


	2. Investigation

_**Harry Potter and all related copyright do not belong to me. Story is compliant through most of the epilogue, meaning I have changed only some names, ages, and numbers of children. There will be slash.**_

_**This story is a companion piece to my previous H/D fic: Five Times Harry Drank On the Job (.net/s/7596648/1/Five_Times_Harry_Drank_On_The_Job)**_

_**It can be read alone, but may be much more enjoyable after reading the first. **_

* * *

><p>Ron paced nervously in front of the apparition point designated for Auror use.<p>

"This doesn't make sense Kingsley. Kipling was apprehended over an hour ago, they should be back by now." The Minister finished issuing some hasty direction to a rather nervous looking admin, and turned to the red head.

"I've got a couple of feelers out in the area, checking the hotels, restaurants, etc. This was a long case; it's perfectly viable that they wanted a moment to sort themselves out before returning." Kingsley's wringing hands belied his true nervousness. Both the Head Auror and his partner were _very_ high profile wizards, and though he tried to keep his calm visage secure, the Minister was just as nervous as the rest of the department currently crowded about the apparition point.

"Well, yeah…" Ron seemed deflated for a moment. "But someone could just as easily have taken advantage of them while they were weakened from the fight! Like, what if he had another accomplice we didn't know about?"

"The Intel was thorough, Weasley," spoke Auror Gildern from somewhere to his left. As a Deputy Auror, Theodore Gildern had been partnered with "the Weasley boy" when he was a trainee. Upon Ron and Harry's completion of the training program, Gildern and Harry's instructor, Kevin Sherling, had been promoted to Auror and partnered together. Now, they had retired from field work, and headed up the D.R.I., Department of Relevant Intelligence.

"My boys tracked and re-tracked every lead Potter and that Malfoy boy found the month prior. They went into that mission fully informed about everything there was to know." Doubts unresolved, Ron's teeth found his bottom lip and began to gnaw.

"Look, Mr. Weasley," Kingsley guided the youngest of their huddle of Aurors to the side. "You've got to calm yourself. We don't want to stir the other Aurors into a frenzy, now."

"Yes… yes, you're right. I'm sorry." Ron hand a hand over his brow. Kingsley thought for a moment.

"Maybe there is something you can do." The young Auror perked up in response, ready to help.

"His children aren't at the house?"

"No, Ginny's got a training camp with the Holyhead Harpies for the month, so the kids have been with Molly at the burrow while Harry's been on the mission."

"Then no one would be able to tell us if he had just gone home. Go to Grimmauld Place. If they were looking to just clean up a bit before coming back, they may have found their way to Harry's." Ron frowned.

"That's a bit of distance to apparate after a battle like that… but Harry _has_ always preferred places he knew…"

"That's the spirit!" Kingsley clapped Ron on the back. "Use the floo in my office; it has a connection to the old headquarters. That way, you can just go on in, instead of having to apparate outside the door." Ron nodded, and set off down the hall.

* * *

><p>"Harry, mate, you here? We're all getting kind of worri-…" Ron's words died in his throat when he saw the two men curled tightly together on the old couch.<p>

Harry, in jeans and an open button down shirt, had turned half sideways with his left foot on the floor and his right leg propped up against the back cushions. A more conservatively dressed Draco, in black slacks and a turtleneck, had made himself comfortable between them and lay with his head on the darker man's chest. The blonde's arms had found their way up and around the Head Auror's neck, and Harry's right palm rested gently on the small of Draco's back. His other hand dangled loosely, with the handle of a mug still looped around his fingers.

Ron stared at the scene before him, taking Auror Gildern's old advice, and gathered all the information he could before he made up his mind about what had happened. He noticed their bruises, cuts, and scrapes. He noticed their hair was still damp, but their clothes clean. He noticed the filthy, muddied edge of an Auror robe sticking out from the laundry chute. Then, he _definitely_ noticed the empty bottles of Ogden's on the table, and the similarly colored liquid dripping from Harry's neglected mug onto the carpet below.

After surreptitiously glancing over Harry's exposed collar bone for any damning evidence, Ron surmised the night had been mostly innocent. After all, Harry and he had often times crashed on the couch together, Ogden's in hand, after a particularly grueling night of work.

'However,' Ron thought to himself with a wry smirk, carefully sliding the mug from his friend's hand and placing it on the coffee table. 'I'm pretty sure we never ended up quite like that.' Naturally, they had their fair share of awkward wakeups (given that Ron was prone to splaying about while asleep, and Harry was definitely a cuddler), but unless Hermione had a story she wasn't telling them, or a picture she wasn't showing them, they had never seemed quite so… intimate.

Ron frowned, watching his brother-in-law, his sister's _husband_, nuzzle and hum contentedly into Malfoy's hair. Harry let out a great breath, and as his shoulders relaxed and he pulled Draco closer to him, Ron realized why he wasn't as shocked as he thought he should be. Harry hadn't looked this happy, this at peace, in a very long time.

Crinkling his nose and resolving to think about it later, Ron picked up the near empty bottle of Ogden's, took a quick swig, and with a green flash of flame he was off to tell Molly to keep the kids at the burrow just a little while longer.


	3. Consolation

_**Harry Potter and all related copyright do not belong to me. Story is compliant through most of the epilogue, meaning I have changed only some names, ages, and numbers of children. There will be slash.**_

_**This story is a companion piece to my previous H/D fic: Five Times Harry Drank On the Job (.net/s/7596648/1/Five_Times_Harry_Drank_On_The_Job)**_

_**It can be read alone, but may be much more enjoyable after reading the first. **_

_**(Also. Cookies to whoever gets the reference in this chapter)**_

* * *

><p>Ron looked up from his case file as the door to his office slowly opened. His best friend shuffled in, looking at the floor as he closed the door behind him.<p>

"Um… hi," Harry offered, looking up sheepishly.

"Hey." Wringing his hands, Harry nervously sat in the guest chair in front of Auror Weasley's desk.

"So, we haven't… really discussed this whole… _thing_," Harry began, haltingly.

"No, we haven't." A heavy silence settled over the room.

"Are you mad and me?" Ron sighed as the small voice tugged at his heartstrings, a voice unsuitable to his usually confident friend. He folded his fingers beneath his chin and looked at the Head Auror. His face was drawn and pale, and he looked so damn _tired._

"No. No, I'm not mad at you. It's just… it's weird. I mean, it's my sister, you know."

"Yeah," Harry sat with his hands in lap, uncomfortable in his friend's office for the first time. The minutes seemed to stretch on into days.

"Were you ever happy?" Ron could tell his question took the nervous boy by surprise. Harry's head shot up, and pinned the red-haired with wide eyes.

"I… yes, I was. At least in the beginning," Harry's smile grew wistful, and tears began to prick at his eyes. "Then, when James was born, and later Lilly, oh we were so happy." Ron stood and reached across the desk, grabbing Harry's hand and squeezing gently as the salty water started to roll down his cheeks.

"But after Al, things started to change. She was never happy anymore; I couldn't _make_ her happy anymore. Then work started piling up, and I was rarely home, and she was wanting more and more from me that I couldn't give, and we were fighting _constantly_ and the children were getting caught up in the middle, and-…" the floodgates had opened. Ron moved and stood next to his first and best friend silently, rubbing his back as he let out thirteen years of repressed dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

"I was dreading going back to my own home every night, because I knew a fight was waiting to happen, that I would do _something_ that would set her off." Harry seemed to be calming down, and Ron hopped up on the desk to face him, handing over a tissue.

"Then, when she found out she was pregnant with Sirius…" Harry's face darkened, and he seemed to be debating whether or not to continue.

"Go on, Harry," Ron urged. "I'm her brother, but I'm also your friend. Don't clam up on me now." Harry smiled weakly.

"That was the Big One. When I knew everything was going to change. We had this big row, because Ginny… Ginny didn't want him."

"Merlin, you can't mean-…"

"She told me she had never planned on any more children. As a matter of fact, she had already spoken to a Healer, long before I even knew she was pregnant. She hadn't planned on ever telling me. Hell, if James hadn't gotten into the trash can while I was on vacation, throwing the contents around the room, I never would have seen the paperwork, never would've known... Siri' would've been…" Harry trailed off, rubbing his temple, and Ron stood gaping.

"I managed to talk her out of it, Godric, but after that things were never the same. She made no secret of how little she thought of me, of Sirius. She moved out of our room, set herself up in the guest room, and signed on with the Harpies as assistant coach. I feel horrible, leaving the children at the Burrow so often, but Ginny's job takes her away for long periods of time, and my hours as an Auror are really no better. I thought about quitting, or working from home, but a quick investigation into the vaults showed the true damage of Ginny's love of fine things. Her income alone, for our family of six, would put us into a bit of a tight spot."

Head reeling, Ron staggered back around to his desk chair, dropping himself down ungracefully.

"Damn," he murmured. "I hadn't realized things had gotten so bad. And it's been like that since Sirius was born?"

"Yeah. Eight years," Harry sighed, shoulders slumping. Silence pounded in their ears as the two men sat in the small office. Ron mulled over all the new information, and Harry sat forlornly across from the desk. With six quick footsteps, the quiet was broken, and Ron pulled his best friend up out of the chair and into a bone-shattering hug. Stunned, Harry stood frozen for a moment, before gripping his old partner's sleeves and returning the embrace with a shuddering cry of relief.

"I… I thought you'd hate me, or… or call me a liar, or-…"

"Dumbass," Ron scolded, not releasing his grip. "Don't you ever think that. You're my _best friend_, Harry. You always will be."

"But she's your sister," came the soft response.

"From the sound of things," Ron spoke quietly. "She hasn't been the sister I remember for a long time. The day you married her, and I made you promise to protect my little sister and keep her happy, I had expected her to do the same for my little brother." Because that's what Harry had always been to him. From the first time he had invited Harry into his home, Ron felt a connection to this boy who hadn't had a family, who had never known the frustration of siblings, the pride of a father, or the love of a mother. He wanted to be that family, for once in his life to be the _older_ brother, to take care of his friend. Whether or not Harry was married to his sister, he would always be part of Ron's family.

Harry pulled away, rubbing the remaining tears from his eyes.

"Thanks, mate. I guess I needed to just…" he gestured about with his hands.

"Yeah."

"Right."

They shuffled about awkwardly for a few moments.

"So. Manly things."

"Right! Quidditch and Firewhisky!" With that the uncomfortable atmosphere was gone, and the two alumni dissolved into fits of laughter. Once composed, Harry was on his way out the door when Ron stopped him with a strong clap on the shoulder.

"Harry, go home. Have a good night's sleep, eat a nice breakfast, and for Merlin's sake get yourself a damn good lawyer."

"I, uh," Harry shuffled his feet. "I have one, actually."

"Really, who?"

"Well… Niles Wedgeworth." Ron's jaw dropped open.

"You're joking. He's… he's the real deal, Harry! You were there when Lucius Malfoy was pardoned; you saw how he just railroaded over the other lawyers! Hell, Harry, how much are you paying him?"

With a wry grin, far too reminiscent of a certain Slytherin for Ron's liking, Harry answered with a quick "I'm not," and shot out of the office.

Shaking his head, Ron staggered back to his desk, picking up the abandoned case report. After staring blankly at the page for a quarter of an hour, he gave up. Strolling down the hall, he poked his head into the Head Auror's office.

"And what can I do for your _magnificent _ginger mop-top today?" Ron scowled at the drawling voice issuing from the far corner.

"Is Harry in?"

"Not at the moment. Shall I tell him you dropped by and graced yourself with my presence?"

Ron just rolled his eyes, marching over to Harry's desk. Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him from over the file he was perusing, the patronizing effect amplified by the thin, rimless reading glasses perched atop his nose

"Weasley, what in Salazar's name are you doing?" he asked, placing the file flat on his desk.

"Do you know where Harry keeps his firewhisky?" Ron asked, rummaging around Harry's side of the office. Malfoy's lips twitched up in something that Ron almost thought could've been an amused smile, but he said nothing and went back to his paperwork.

"Oh honestly, Weasley," he muttered a few minutes later. "His desk, left hand side, third drawer down. Simple extension charm in the back right corner. Use _Incantatem Revelio_ to cancel the concealment charm."

"Oh, hey," Ron exclaimed, pulling out the bottle. "Uh… thanks." Malfoy just rolled his eyes and went back to pretending to ignore him.

"Just out of curiosity," the blonde called when Ron was almost out the door. "What exactly are you nicking his bottle of 'Gryffindor Courage' for?" Ron grimaced.

"Told you that story, did he?"

"Several times," Malfoy smirked. Snorting, Ron turned back around. He looked at the Ex-Deatheater seriously. Draco held his gaze. Ron decided.

"I need to make a floo call to my sister. She's not going to like what I have to say." Something flashed behind Malfoy's eyes.

"Good."

The word was said with no spite, and with a tone just as level as his gaze. They stared at each other for a bit, then Ron nodded, and Malfoy nodded back.

With that, the Auror left the room, mentally filing the interaction away with a growing pile of Malfoy-related musings. He popped the top on the bottle and took a quick swig as he reached into the floo pot.

He was not going to enjoy this.


	4. Introduction

_**Harry Potter and all related copyright do not belong to me. Story is compliant through most of the epilogue, meaning I have changed only some names, ages, and numbers of children. There will be slash.**_

_**This story is a companion piece to my previous H/D fic: Five Times Harry Drank On the Job (.net/s/7596648/1/Five_Times_Harry_Drank_On_The_Job)**_

_**It can be read alone, but may be much more enjoyable after reading the first. **_

_**Hints of Scorpius/Albus pre-slash**_

* * *

><p>"Why do you need to speak to anyone else? My boys could have been killed! I demand to see the Minister, right now!"<p>

"I understand, Mrs. Boot," Ron sighed, rubbing his temple. "But I'm just following the procedure. I will conduct the remainder of the investigation, beginning with the young Mr. Potter. If you wish, I can arrange a meeting with Minister Shacklebolt _after_ the initial report is complete. Thank you."

Marietta Boot's indignant protests were cut off as Ron quickly shut the infirmary doors behind.

"Merlin, Al," Ron murmured, leaning against the heavy wood. "What have you gotten yourself into _now_?" Resigning his self to a very fruitless confrontation with the closed-off child, Ron started to make his way down to the Slytherin common room.

'Never thought I'd get so familiar with these passages,' the Auror mused as he navigated the labyrinth of corridors and dungeons. With Al being the Head Auror's son, the Minister felt it would seem too biased to send Harry out to deal with his antics. However, given the high-profile status of the Potter family, Kingsley didn't want just any Auror taking charge. So, every time Al got into trouble, Ron found himself marching down into Slytherin territory to clean up the mess.

He was halfway there when he felt a light tug on the trailing edge of his robe.

"Excuse me, Mr. Auror," came a hesitant voice, lightly resonating through the stone tunnel. "May I speak?"

Ron turned around to find a small blonde boy clutching the hem of uniform nervously. Between the platinum hair and the pointed noise, it didn't take an Unspeakable to figure out who the boy belonged to (not to mention Ron had seen the pictures of this child that were slowly beginning to work their way into the Head Auror's office).

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" Scorpius let go of Ron's robe and suddenly became very interested in the floor.

"It's just…" Ron raised an eyebrow as the young Malfoy shuffled his feet. Whatever he had expected Draco's kid to be like, it wasn't this. The little Slytherin almost seemed frightened, but was frantically wringing his hands while searching for the right words.

"Well… the thing is… I mean…" He looked like he had something really important to say, so Ron didn't push it. Even still, Scorpius seemed to grow more agitated by the second. The minutes ticked by though, with still no cohesive statement from the distressed blonde.

"Look, I'm sorry kid, but I'm kind of on a tight schedule. Maybe some other time-…"

"Al didn't do anything wrong, you see!" the boy loudly blurted out, face coloring a bright pink. Embarrassed, he covered his mouth with his hands as Ron stared at him with wide eyes.

"Oh?" Suddenly interested, the Auror knelt down to Scorpius' level. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, I just… please don't be angry," the boy began pleading frantically. He took a great breath as his eyes filled with tears. "It's just I don't want Al to get in trouble for something that's not his fault and now there's gonna be an inquiry and he's gonna go to Azkaban and the Dementors are gonna get him 'cuz he can't do a Patronus Charm and he's my best friend and I'm never gonna see him again and then I'll just DIE!" Ron blinked in confusion as Scorpius' sobs turned into hiccups. The poor thing's imagination had apparently run wild with him, and Ron couldn't quite keep up.

"C-calm down, uh… Scorpius, was it?" The blonde nodded, blinking up at him with bright blue doe-eyes through tear rimmed lashes.

"Al's not going to Azkaban, so you don't have to worry about that," Ron placated, trying to calm the adorable bundle of nerves in front of him.

'Damn,' Ron cursed to himself. 'How'd a guy like Malfoy end up with such a cute kid?' He hadn't known the child for more than a few seconds, and already Ron felt like picking him up and sheltering him from the world. As the hiccups began to subside into sniffles, Ron motioned toward an empty room on the left.

"What year are you in?"

"Third year…"

'The same as Al,' Ron thought. 'Odd. He looks so much smaller.'

"How about we sit down, and you can start from the beginning, alright Scorpius?" The boy nodded, and shuffled in as Ron shut the door behind him.

"Alright," Ron hopped up onto a large desk near the front, and motion for Scorpius to jump up beside him. "Tell me what happened." Scorpius hesitated, and then took another deep breath.

"Slowly!" Ron interjected hurriedly.

"Sorry," Scorpius replied, looking a little sheepish. "I get a little carried away sometimes. Al says that it's okay though, 'cuz he's quiet and shy so I've gotta have enough excitement for both of us." Scorpius face lit up with a great big genuine smile, and Ron was happy the boy had calmed down.

"Just take your time, Scorpius."

"Okay. Well…" Scorpius closed his eyes and scrunched up his face, wiggling his nose in the process. Ron bit back a laugh.

"I was coming back from the library. It was late, 'cuz Professor Chang had given me a lot of remedial Transfiguration work to be due at the end of week, but I wasn't worried 'cuz I'm really good at Transfiguration!" Scorpius puffed up his chest with pride, and Ron was struck with how much like his father the boy really looked. He hadn't seen it through the nervousness and uncertainly, but now that Scorpius was relaxed and growing more confident in his presence, Ron felt as though he was peering back in time.

"So I finished up around Eleven o'Clock, and started to go back to the common room."

"Wait a minute, Scorpius," Ron interjected, thinking of something odd. "If you're really good at Transfiguration, why was Cho-… err, Professor Chang giving you remedial work?" The Malfoy miniature just shrugged.

"I don't know, but a lot of the Professor's do. 'Cept for Professor Slughorn, which is weird, 'cuz that's the only class I'm horrible at." Scorpius laughed it off, but Ron frowned, filing the information away for later.

"Alright, so what happened then?"

"Well, curfew's at Eleven, but since I was only out late for school work I wasn't nervous. There were footsteps though, and I thought someone else was around, but I never saw anyone. Until one of the other houses' Prefects saw me…" Scorpius started to quiet down, intensely serious all of a sudden, and Ron had a feeling they were finally getting to the meat of the story.

"I tried to tell him I was doing work, but he wouldn't listen, and kept saying things like how it figured a Malfoy would think he was above the rules, and how a nasty Slytherin wouldn't have any respect for the authority of a 'just' and 'noble' house like his own." Scorpius was gripping the edge of the wooden desk tightly, his knuckles turning white. Ron patted the boys shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. He wasn't surprised. Tensions between the houses had been exceptionally strained in the years after the war. He supposed Harry's naïveté had begun to rub off on him though; he hadn't thought things were still _this _bad.

"Then what, Scorpius?"

"It got… weird." Ron frowned.

"Weird like how?" Scorpius stared at the floor.

"The Prefect started saying things like how pretty I was, and how cute I was, and how it was shame who my dad was. Then his friends showed up and were saying the same sorts of things, and the Prefect said we could come to an 'arrangement' and one of the others grabbed my wrist…" Scorpius trailed off, and Ron could feel rage bubbling up in his stomach.

"What happened then, Scorpius?" he whispered, expecting and dreading the answer. However, he definitely hadn't expected the boy's face to light up like the Burrow at Christmas time.

"Al saved me," Scorpius beamed proudly. "I hadn't even seen him, and there was nobody else around, but suddenly there's a _swish_ and he's there!" Ron let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"So, they didn't do anything else?" Scorpius shook his head, giggling as he swished his blonde hair around.

"Nope! Al got 'em good!" Ron smiled. He hadn't known Al and the Malfoy boy had ever spoken to each other, let alone become friends, but now he was glad. The little Slytherin sitting next to him swinging his feet had already wormed his way into Ron's heart the same way the Potter children had. If Al hadn't come along just then ('or been following him all along, it seems like,' Ron thought with suspicion), he didn't want to think about what might've happened.

"So… Al's gonna be okay, right? He's not gonna go to prison?"

"No, he's not," Ron laughed, acting on impulse and ruffling the boy's hair. "I'll take care of everything."

"Thanks a lot, Mr. Weasley!" Ron did a double take.

"You know who I am?" Scorpius nodded at him, still smiling.

"Yup! You were just like how Daddy told me."

"Your father told you about me?" Ron asked, incredulous. "What exactly did he say?" Scorpius scrunched up his nose again.

"He said that if I was ever in any trouble, and he wasn't around with his Auror partner, 'cuz he's partnered with the Head Auror himself who's _really_ busy," Scorpius exclaimed with pride, puffing out his chest again. "Then I should look for man with really red hair and lotsa freckles. He said that Mr. Weasley might seem a little scary at first, 'cuz he's an Auror too, but that it's okay 'cuz he's fair and a good person. So, I shouldn't be afraid to talk to you, 'cuz you'll listen to me no matter what the other Aurors think."

Ron stared, gob smacked, while the child beamed at him. Had Malfoy really said all that?

"Right, well…" Ron coughed, gathering his composure. "You should go on to bed. It's late, and you want to be rested for class." Scorpius nodded, thanking him once more, and scurrying out the door towards the common room. Realizing the truth in his own statement, Ron glance down at his watch and decided to put off talking to Al until tomorrow.

Besides, he wanted to have a little chat with a certain Deputy Auror tonight.

* * *

><p>Malfoy glanced up, rubbing his tired eyes as Ron entered the room.<p>

"Golden Boy's not in. Have a nice day."

"And here I am, thinking you actually have it in you to be civil," Ron snorted, wheeling the swivel chair reserved for visitors in front of the blonde's desk and plopping into it without invitation.

"Oh? What on the earth would have given you that idea?"

"Your son." Malfoy immediately tensed, sitting straight up in his chair and pinning Ron with a serious gaze.

"What are you saying, that you've spoken to Scorpius? Why? Did something happen?" Ron realized Draco had no idea how involved his son was in Al Potter's latest mess.

"I… ran into him. At the school, when I was on my way to see the Problem Child." Malfoy loosened his grip on the quill he was currently crushing into nothing more than a featherless twig.

"Oh." An awkward atmosphere settled over the room, Draco itching to say more, and Ron giving nothing away. The nervous father caved first.

"And? How was he?" Ron laughed.

"Fine, fine. He's… he's a good kid, Malfoy." Draco visibly relaxed, setting aside the much abused quill.

"He doesn't say much, in his letters. He thinks I worry too much, about how my past will affect his life at school. He-… it seems as though he leaves things out. I don't really know anything about how he gets on with the other students, or how his classes are going…"

"He…" Ron wasn't sure exactly how much to tell the other man. "He has good friends. _Loyal_ friends." Well, one at least. "Though I'm surprised he's rubbish at potions. I thought that ran in the genes or something."

"Hardly," Draco snorted. "You'd never hear him admit it, but my father was even worse than Potter. Severus wouldn't let him within three feet of a cauldron, even at school." Ron laughed, and Malfoy joined suit.

"Look at us, having a chat like old school buddies. Harry would be proud."

"The only thing missing is the firewhisky," Draco chortled. Ron glanced furtively at the door.

"Well," he answered, pulling a suspicious bottle and two glasses from his coat. "Not necessarily." Ron figured the expression that flitted over it would be the closest thing to shock he would ever see on Malfoy's face.

"We're at work, Weasley." The red-head shot a pointed glance at Harry's desk. Malfoy laughed. "Valid point."

Glass now filled and firmly in hand, Draco looked at Ron oddly.

"Why this sudden interest in striking up conversation? It seems a bit out of place. Hell, you even brought alcohol. Not that I'm complaining, mind you…" Ron shrugged, filling his own cup.

"I was surprised, meeting Scorpius. We didn't talk for very long, but it's was still evident you've done a good job with him. I figure, given the… _whatever it is _that you've got going on with Harry," He hid a smirk as Malfoy nearly choked on his drink. "I might as well start making an effort to get to know you better."

Ron ignored the splutterings of _"I don't know what you're talking about,"_ as he smiled and took a sip.


	5. Resolution

_**Harry Potter and all related copyright do not belong to me. Story is compliant through most of the epilogue, meaning I have changed only some names, ages, and numbers of children. There will be slash.**_

_**This story is a companion piece to my previous H/D fic: Five Times Harry Drank On the Job (.net/s/7596648/1/Five_Times_Harry_Drank_On_The_Job)**_

_**It can be read alone, but may be much more enjoyable after reading the first. **_

* * *

><p>Ron sighed as he made his way through the hustle and bustle of the Ministry atrium. All around him the crowd was bumping into him, shoving him around, and altogether acting as though he didn't exist. Ron couldn't have been more proud.<p>

After all, Hugo had shown his first bit of accidental magic today. Hermione had been getting worried, because as each birthday passed and their son showed no magical traits she and Ron began to doubt whether or not Hugo had it in him.

This morning, however, as Ron ruffled Hugo's hair before leaving for work, a tingle shot up his arm.

"Oh, Ronald!" Hermione gasped as she pointed at him.

"What? What happened?"

"Look at yourself!" So Ron looked down, and saw the floor. As he moved, the air seemed to wiggle a bit, but he could see no trace of his own body. After a quick trip to St. Mungos, they discovered Hugo had cast a near perfect Disillusionment Charm. Since accidental magic is naturally difficult to reverse, but often short-term, the Healer advised Ron to go about his day and come back if it hadn't worn off by five.

Feeling awfully smug that not even the Ministry personnel could tell he was there, Ron boarded the elevator. He was hoping to stop by the Head Auror's office for a bit to brag to Malfoy, but was saved the trouble as the very man stepped into the otherwise empty compartment. A wicked grin spread over Ron's face, and he was just about to scare the life out of the Slytherin when Draco's eyes widened, and he began pushing the "close door" button in a panic. Ron suppressed a laugh when four fingers, quickly sliding into the swiftly narrowing opening, negated the blonde's attempt. Breathing a little more heavily than normal from his quick sprint to the door, Harry strode purposefully into the small space. He pressed the circle marked 18 for the Auror Department before moving his attentions to the recently abandoned "close door" toggle. As the doors slid shut, Harry turned and pinned Malfoy with an intense gaze. Suddenly, Ron felt very out of place.

'Oh, please don't start hexing each other in here, _especially_ since you don't see me,' Ron silently pleaded. He opened his mouth to make his presence known, just in case there was in fact a fight brewing. After all, in that close of quarters and with him being mostly invisible, there was no chance he wouldn't get hit. However, Harry spoke first.

"Hey," he huffed, still panting slightly.

"Hi." came a murmur from the other man. Ron thought Malfoy sounded uncharacteristically quiet.

"I thought about it."

"Oh." Malfoy shifted around a bit, suddenly very interested in the wall. "And? What… what have you decided?"

Harry took two decisive steps across the small room, placing a hand in the middle of Draco's chest and pushing him against the wall. Ron cringed, closing his eyes.

'So this is how I go. I survive a war and 15 years of tracking down the rest of the bad guys, only to be accidentally murdered in an elevator by my best friend and his partner. Hermione's gonna laugh her ass off.' But there was no crackling of magic, none of the telltale whistling of dangerous hexes, and not even any unfortunate growths protruding from his body. He cracked one eye open.

'Oh. Oh, Merlin's magical _balls._' Harry had Malfoy firmly pinned between his body and the wall, and was ravishing ('There really was no other word for it,' Ron cringed) the taller man's lips. Draco seemed to reciprocate in kind, and as Harry's hands slid towards his hips he worked his fingers into the Head Auror's messy hair, pulling Harry closer. As his best friend began grinding his hips into the amazing bouncing ferret's _all too eager_ pelvis, Ron screwed his eyes shut to try and prevent any further mental trauma and willing the elevator to _hurry the fuck up_.

It didn't work. Moans and groans began to fill the room amid the "Oh _fuck_, Potter!"s and the "Godric, Malfoy, your _tongue!_"s, and Ron found himself cursing every architect that ever _worked_ on the building who thought that having the Auror Department on the top floor was a good idea.

The noises issuing from the other corner of the compartment only grew louder and more vulgar as they drew closer to the 18th floor. Those blessed doors finally dinged open, and as Harry and Malfoy jumped apart, hastily buttoning their shirts and straightening their ties, Ron was already halfway down the hall and on the prowl for something strong enough to burn those images from his mind.

Later that day, Harry found his brand new bottle of Ogden's suspiciously empty.


End file.
